


In the Beginning- Hogwarts 1977

by Kella923



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Marauder's Era, jily
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-08
Updated: 2015-05-08
Packaged: 2018-03-29 15:53:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3902059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kella923/pseuds/Kella923
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is my own personal interpretation of how the Marauder's (and Lily's, and therefore Jily's) seventh year at Hogwarts went. FYI, I have conflicted Peter Pettigrew feelings so this is how I imagine him becoming the way that he did. Also I have strong emotions for James' parents. So. All the characters belong to the lovely J.K. Rowling, all the ideas re my own. I guess this is a re-imagining of what we know canonically happens in their seventh year, as well as a little embellishment to make it come out the way I planned. Enjoy!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. i

James was nervous. Of course, he was never nervous, but arriving at King's Cross Station on September 1, 1977 had hit him hard. For the past six years at Hogwarts, he had goofed around, gotten good grades, and gotten into trouble. He had fallen in love many times with various older buxom girls from all the Houses, and he had made very good friends (as well as some enemies). This year was different. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was gaining more and more followers, including some of the Slytherin students in James' year, and his family and their friends were in increasing danger. People had already died, but James was forced to remain in school another year, as Quidditch Captain and Head Boy. He would rather abandon Hogwarts to join Dumbledore's Order, but his parents wouldn't allow it. After kissing them goodbye on the platform, he pushed his way on to the train, trunk in hand, to find an empty compartment. He hadn't seen Padfoot, Moony, nor Wormtail at the station, but they would probably be along shortly. Finding an unoccupied compartment towards the end of the train, James heaved his trunk up onto the luggage rack and flopped down onto the nearest red-cushioned window seat. The blinds were drawn on the compartment doors, and for a few minutes he had a private moment to collect his thoughts and to suppress his unusually active nerves. If his parents were going to prevent him from fighting for another year, James would simply have to make sure that Hogwarts was as safe as possible. After a few moments of these thoughts, he stood up, stretched (he would be painfully sore after the first Quidditch practice of the season), and reached out to raise the blinds. In spite of everything he was going through mentally, it really was a beautiful September 1st.

BANG! The door burst open and in piled his three best friends. Sirius Black, bearing a toothy, handsome smile, Peter Pettigrew, laughing loudly at James as he stumbled backwards into the seat cushions, and Remus Lupin, who was quietly shaking his head at Sirius' antics. James felt the butterflies in his stomach settle almost immediately as he engulfed his best mates in bone-crushing hugs, and the boys relaxed into their automatic routines of humiliating each other and making terrible puns about each other's' Animagi transformations, along with reflecting on their summers and pestering James about whether or not he had landed a real date with Lily Evans yet. Finally, for the first time all morning, he began to imagine what a good year he was truly going to have, even if saving the world was the first step.

* * *

Remus was having the best Hogwarts Express ride that he could remember in his school career. While he usually spent these long train rides buried in a new textbook or practicing wand technique while the other boys jostled about the compartment, this was different. James had practically accosted the trolley witch as she came down the train corridor, and the mischievous quartet was now in possession of almost half of the Licorice Wands, Chocolate Frogs, and Cockroach Clusters that she was offering. Even with the threat of war in the backs of all their minds, the four young men threw candy wrappers on the scuffed floor of the compartment, joking and complaining about how much coursework they would have to start getting Hufflepuffs to do for them. Remus was struck (as he was almost weekly) by the fact that he had three true, best friends. He had spent the summer holed up in his bedroom, avoiding the turmoil outside while trying to hide his transformations. Getting high marks in his classes had made him a teacher's favorite, and had given him a few well-rounded friends, including Lily Evans and Marlene McKinnon, while his condition itself and his quiet sense of humor had drawn him to Padfoot, Wormtail, and Prongs. He was surprised to find himself laughing with the others, as they took the mickey out of James for his promotion from Quidditch-playing-trouble-maker to Head Boy.

"Hey, Moony! Have your eye on any of the birds this year? It's about time you got yourself some  _tail_!" Sirius suddenly punched Remus in the arm, making him flush and retaliate with a punch to the former's gut.

"Not yet, we haven't even arrived yet! What about you, still trying to find a girl who will put up with your fleas- I mean puns?" In the corner, Peter was rolling his eyes- it had become the tradition between Remus and Sirius to make horrible canine puns at each other, mainly to relieve Remus of the pressures of his condition and to remind Sirius that transforming into a dog wasn't quite enough to get the girls to like him. The excessive tail-wagging could be a bit much sometimes. He could see James staring out the window at the rolling Scottish countryside, and wondered what could possibly have taken the life out of his best friend, who only moments before had been imitating the trolley witch when he had asked her if she wanted to take a jaunt around Hogsmeade with him.

* * *

Sirius, to say the least, was confused. Having a grand time as he always did with his friends, but still confused- Remus was actually laughing, James was quiet and unresponsive to prompting about Lily, and Peter wasn't really taking part in his wordplay with their friend's "furry little problem". Of course, they were most likely contemplating the war that was surrounding them, something that Sirius knew about all too well. After all, his brother Regulus had followed the damn pattern of Black family behavior, and had joined up with the Death Eaters over the summer. At least someone was making his parents proud. By now, only an hour into the journey, almost all of the candy was already gone (thanks to four teenage boys and their metabolisms), and they were looking for something else to do. Just as Peter was trying to open the window so they could light a fag, a serendipitous distraction arrived in the form of three girls- Lily Evans, Marlene McKinnon, and Emmeline Vance. Lily's eyes were red and puffy, so Sirius immediately jumped up to hug her.

"Lily-pad! Are you excited for Hogwarts? I'm excited for Hogwarts. It's so much FUN!" She laughed a little, and he was glad; his excited-first-year act had never failed to make a pretty girl smile when she was sad. Picking her up, he twirled her around and set her in the seat between himself and Prongs, starting to poke her sides and pull her hair to make her smile. During all of this, Sirius' watchful hormone radar was not deterred- he noticed all of the little smiles and bashful glances between Remus and Marlene, and the way that Peter lit up when he saw Emmeline's rich brown hair bouncing over her shoulders as she sat across from him. He saw James' entire body relax when Lily sat next to him, and he knew that this year at Hogwarts, he would have to deal with some snogging around the place. The Gryffindor Common Room was not going to be a welcome place after hours, if this was how the train ride was working out. Luckily, Mary McDonald had been owling him over the summer, and he had a hopeful feeling that those letters would blossom into something more this year.

* * *

Peter was a bit on edge. Usually content, bemused, and amiable, he had had a rough summer and being around his old friends wasn't helping a bit. Not only was his parents' marriage becoming rocky, but Mulciber and Avery had come round a few times, trying to convince him to join some sort of group that they were in. As a Gryffindor, Peter had never had much contact with these boys before, other than the occasional double Potions or Care of Magical Creatures class, so their sudden interest in his actions was disconcerting. And they were in league with Snivellus Snape, which was a serious issue when it came to Peter's views on loyalty. It was a basic definition of the Marauder's that they hated Snape, basically just because he existed. Peter cared deeply about his friends, and he tried his best to show them through his loyalty. Because of them, he had become quite an accomplished wizard by this time in his education, he and his wand working as one. He had been one of the first to figure out how to transform into his Animagus, even if it had taken him the longest amount of time to make the transformation without any mishaps (these included one time when he thought he had succeeded but was actually a rat running around with miniaturized human hands and feet instead of paws, but luckily none of the other boys had seen him- otherwise, he would have had a nickname much worse than Wormtail). Maybe he would become an Auror after leaving Hogwarts at the end of this year. Regardless, Peter was sure that his last year at Hogwarts was going to be amazing. If this train ride was any indication, nothing would ever split him apart from James, Sirius, and Remus. They were friends, and they would stay friends. Right now, Lily was helping James force open the window with a few well-placed  _Alohomora_ s _,_ but apparently the school management found it unwelcome to have their students smoking on the train. They probably found it welcome to have them sweltering, however. With seven people in what felt like the smallest compartment on the train, they had all stripped down to the bare necessities of their uniforms, and Lily and Remus had been flipping through their copies of The Standard Book of Spells: Grade Seven to find a proper cooling charm. On the bright side, Emmeline Vance had let her hair grow out over the summer, and as long as he slipped Avery and Mulciber into the back of his mind, everything was going great. Other than the war, of course. But he knew he needed to focus on himself, instead of what everyone else wanted him to do.

* * *

 _Thank God for the Marauders_ , Lily thought to herself as she settled back into the seat between Sirius and James. As she was saying goodbye to her parents at the platform, Petunia (Lily was forbidden to call her "Tuney" anymore) had arrived with Vernon in tow, ready to shoo away good old Mum 'n Dad for more wedding planning. When Lily had tried to bid farewell to her sister, asking her to send her letters and to keep in touch, Petunia had simply scowled, turned her back, and flounced away, her hair already pulled tight into a housewife's bun instead of the loose style of the decade that Lily tried to exemplify. Vernon looked back at Lily, his moustache already growing back from that morning's shave, and flashed her a look that read " _how dare you upset my fiancée like this"_ , and then turned away. Lily waved to their backs, and then ran onto the train to prevent anyone from seeing her quivering lips and already-puffy eyes. Of course, she couldn't keep everyone away from her for the entire train ride, and also of course, Marlene and Emmeline had found her right away. Honestly, there was no way to keep those two from finding her when she was in a bad mood, but they were her chums, and she never really wanted them to go away once they arrived. They talked for a few minutes, the other two girls thoroughly berating Petunia for being such a rotten sister and Vernon for being an absolutely rubbish person in general. Soon, before Lily even realized it, Marlene and Emmeline had exchanged a few conspiratorial words and glances and she was on her feet being marched down the train aisle. When she finally realized what was happening, she was already being accosted by Sirius Black and plopped down in a seat next to James. However enthusiastic Black was, Lily wasn't laughing at his antics- she just couldn't help smiling when he tried so hard to help her feel better!

After some time on the train, Lily was sweating profusely. Having tried to open the window unsuccessfully with James' help, she and Remus managed to find the proper Atmospheric Charm to cool down the compartment. The rest of the train ride was less boisterous, but altogether incredibly pleasant. It was a nice change to be away from Petunia and that monstrous Vernon. It was as if they hadn't heard her crying at night, or panicking when reading the Daily Prophet articles about He-Who-Must-Be-Named. It was as if they hadn't heard her screaming at Severus to leave her alone, that she would never join his creepy cult of Death Eaters. She hadn't told them that Dumbledore had offered her membership in the Order of the Phoenix after she graduated from Hogwarts. She hadn't told them that she would be fighting to save their lives, but she figured that they wouldn't care. As long as she didn't disrupt the wedding. Anyway, it was much more comforting to know that she was on the way back to Hogwarts, chatting to Peter about Paul McCartney and Wings (he had a Muggle uncle who didn't quite understand the concept of magic, but he had introduced Peter to the Beatles at an early age). She had needed the normalcy of her friends again. Besides, what could have been better than forcing Remus and Marlene to sit together? She knew they fancied each other, and Lily found nothing more completely relaxing than organizing a match between her friends. This would be a good year.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! leave me a review and feel free to give me advice about what else to write :) and follow me on tumblr! (in my bio)**


	2. ii

**I'm really proud of this chapter, let me know what you think!**

* * *

"Prongs, where in the name of Merlin do you think you're going?"

"Sirius, let him go…"

"Really, though, where is he going in the middle of the back-to-school feast?"

* * *

James heard his friends whispering behind his back as he left the Gryffindor table and strode as quickly as he could (without running) out of the hall, and without knocking over any of the first-year students who had yet to be Sorted. He could feel the family ring on his left hand still burning as he clenched his fists, sprinting up to his private quarters in the common room. Once he had reached the familiar fireplace and the large four-poster bed that would be his for the rest of the term, he slammed the oaken door shut and threw open his trunk to find the two-way mirror that he and his parents now used to communicate, since Prongs had given the Potters his side of the device because he and James were inseparable at Hogwarts and had no need for it.

"Mum? Dad?" he was almost shouting into the reflective surface, only seeing himself. There was no sign of his parents, even though they had promised to always remain together and to contact him any time the "Dark Lord" and his followers showed movement, or if they were in any danger. The only reason that damn ring would start trying to burn his hand off the instant he arrived at Hogwarts would be if one of his parents… No, there was no way that they would be that reckless with their lives. If only he could see somebody else's face in the mirror…

"James?" a voice he barely recognized suddenly hit his ears, immediately opening his eyes and grabbing the damn device off the floor where he had tossed it seconds before. "Mum? Is that you? What happened, is anyone hurt? Tell me everything! I can go to Dumbledore, McGonagall, I could leave tonight if you need me to help you, what can I do, please say that Dad's okay! Was it Voldemort? What's going on?" His mother looked battered, bruised and shocked, with a small cut on her cheek and a rip in her favorite housedress. "James… You need to stay at Hogwarts, please. That's the safest place in the Wizarding world right now…" she was cut off by a bout of coughing from somewhere beyond the limits of the mirror. "Charlus, please stay with me, I need you to stay with me…" Dorea Potter looked at her son through the silver glass, tears brimming in her eyes. "Jamie, I need to take your father to St. Mungo's. You-Know-Who's followers were attacking Muggles in King's Cross Station, we did what we could to fight them off, but he's badly injured… They were using spells we had never heard of before. I can't tell you any more right now, but I can owl you once we get this sorted out. I love you, and promise me you will stay at Hogwarts!" James was struggling to process how all of this could have happened so quickly- he had been with his parents only this morning. He nodded, unable to make any words come out of his throat where they seemed to be stuck. "And James, one more thing- keep close to poor Sirius. I think I saw one of our cousins- on the Black side- fighting on the side of Death Eaters. Just make sure he doesn't do anything more reckless than usual, please. I love you, I have to go! Keep this mirror with you at all times. Goodbye!" and his mother's face vanished from the cold glass in his quaking fingers. James dropped the mirror, taking off his glasses and covering his face in one motion as his entire body began to shake with large, terrible sobs. James Potter was not one to cry, but there is always a first time for everything.

* * *

As soon as all of the first-years had been Sorted and Dumbledore had named her and James as Head Boy and Girl, Lily politely excused herself from the Gryffindor table with a large plate of food and a whisper to a prefect to make sure that their new students were properly led into the common room later. "What are you doing?" hissed Remus as she frantically began to gather together some food and utensils. "Just let me go talk to him, it'll be fine!" she whispered back, climbing over the bench and out of the Hall. She knew her friend well enough to look for him in his private quarters, understanding the comfort of a warm fire and bed in times of stress. When James had practically sprinted from the feast, she had managed to cover up his disappearance with a couple of well-chosen sentences about "Head duties" and "planning a surprise for the new Gryffindors", which she knew she would now have to plan so as not to disappoint. As she made her way up to their rooms, however, she had nothing of the sort on her mind. What could have caused James to vanish not ten minutes into the best feast of the year? She knew he secretly adored his duties as Head, and most certainly would not have abandoned an entirely new crop of young lions to intimidate and scare and take right under his wing on the relatively short journey from the Great Hall to the portrait at Gryffindor Tower.

When Lily Evans herself arrived there on this night, the Fat Lady immediately let her in (a nice perk of being Head Girl- no need to identify herself anywhere), and she rushed up the set of stairs to hers and James' bedrooms. His door was unlocked and barely ajar, and she could hear no sounds from within, but she tread lightly nonetheless, making sure the cutlery she had hastily snatched from the feast was still balanced on the platter she carried (Sirius had been properly offended when she had grabbed almost the entire plate of mashed potatoes out from under his fork). Pushing open the solid mass of wood that creaked no matter how gently she touched it, she crept into the Head Boy's room. By sneaking-into-boys'-rooms standards, this was hardly how she imagined it should be, but by helping-a-friend-in-distress standards, she thought she was doing a bloody fine job, if you asked her! The lamps were turned down, but Lily could just make out a body lying in front of the flickering fireplace. She couldn't tell if it was the light from the flames, but it seemed as though he was shaking.

"James? It's Evans. I know you missed the feast, but I stole us some mashed potatoes and a bit of the roast, so that we could have a proper dinner. Can I help?" James would tell her if he needed any help, she knew that much about him, so she refrained from asking what had caused his hasty departure from the Sorting Ceremony.

Without seeing any movement, she heard him whisper "did I just hear Lily Evans say the word 'stole' in a positive context? Seventh year stress must already be settling in, huh?" The words, though delivered with typical Potter-sarcasm (she was thinking of marketing that phrase), were quiet and almost lifeless. It was if something or someone had knocked the wind out of James and left him to rot in front of a dying fire, but he wouldn't go down without a fight. It almost brought tears to her eyes- she had never seen him quite this helpless before. There was nothing she could think of to do but busy herself around his room. Stoking the fire gave her hands something to do, as did tidying up his trunk and placing it neatly beside his bed. When she turned back around, James Potter was sitting up against his wardrobe, replacing his square glasses on his face, and running a tremulous hand through his hair. Lily sat down next to him, handed the Head Boy a fork, and commenced to eat some of the stolen roast, waiting patiently for him to say something- anything. About five minutes passed in this way when James suddenly blurted out-

"It's my dad. He was attacked by Voldemort's followers and he's in St. Mungo's and I'm not allowed to leave Hogwarts and see him and Sirius' cousin is a Death Eater and that means his family is involved which means my family is involved did I ever tell you I'm his mother's cousin and oh God Evans the full moon is this week and I honestly don't know what to do and we're Head Boy and Girl and Quidditch tryouts start on Monday and... I don't know what to do." His head hung low as he said these last words, and Lily instinctively threw her arm around his shoulder.

"Oh, James... I'm so sorry about all of this... That's too much for one of you to handle." Lily had learned long ago that When James Potter was upset, he didn't want someone to offer him suggestions until he was ready for them- he just wanted an empathetic listener, and that was something she could be for him. On the inside, however, her brain was running wild, thinking of going to McGonagall and Dumbledore and telling them that James needed to go to the hospital, even though they most likely already knew, and checking with Marlene to see if she could hold tryouts for Quidditch if need be (Merlin knew that Gryffindor needed a win this year), and that she might have to talk to Sirius about his family tree, and that Remus was going to have a sleepless night this week, how was she going to keep everyone safe without James? But none of this could be said out loud. Thankfully, September 1st had fallen on a Thursday this year, so they would have no classes for the next 3 days. That gave her plenty of time.

"James, I wish I could help you, but right now I'm only prepared with steak and some mashed potatoes... Oh! Do you want me to ring for a house-elf? You must be hungry by now, you've been up here so long!" When he slowly nodded his head, pulling himself together enough to sit up again, find a form, and begin to slowly pick at the plates she had brought, Lily stood up and pulled the cord at the side of the fireplace, whereupon a tiny elf appeared almost instantly from seemingly nowhere.

"Miss Evans, how kindly of you to request our services on this first night of term! What will Miss Evans and Mister Potter be requiring tonight? Is Mister Potter quite alright, miss? He seems troubled, if it's not too much for Tilly to say, miss." The elf cut quite a figure in a crisp teacloth emblazoned with the Hogwarts crest, bowing and swooping at the sight of the Head Boy and Girl. Lily grinned- something about the house-elves always made her smile.

"Just some pumpkin juice, please, Tilly. And maybe some bread and some stuffing as well? And perhaps a few desserts, if it's not too much trouble! James here has had quite a night." Lily asked as politely as possible. She was riled up to the point that her fingers were slightly trembling, but she knew the elves had to be treated politely, if there was any hope to be had of real food coming their way.

"Would treacle suffice, miss? And perhaps a few tarts? And I shall find a potion for Mister Potter's nerves, miss. Thank you for your requests!" And Tilly was off in a snap.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! leave me a review and feel free to give me advice about what else to write :) and follow me on tumblr! (in my bio)**


	3. iii

Evans was a savior, she really bloody was. James had no idea how hungry he had been until she had gotten there, and mashed potatoes? Seriously, his favorite food on top of all of these terrible things overloading his senses was making everything fall to the back of his brain, letting his brain relax. For the first time in almost two hours, he felt his nerves slackening and the beating in his chest slowed to normal- well, as normal as it could try to be when Lily Evans was sitting on the floor not six feet from him, lounging on her robes while her Head Girl badge glinted on the collar of her shirt, and her green eyes sparkling in the firelight... Fuck! He had to stop looking at her, stop thinking about her... His father was in St. Mungo's and here James was, panting over a girl who had semi-loathed him since their first year? If the boys had been here, Sirius would have taken the mickey out of him for behaving this way. Well… maybe not. Sometimes when you're stressed, all you can do is focus on the parts of your life that aren't falling around yours. And by Merlin, he hoped that he wouldn't lose his friendship with Lily either, there was no way that he could bear that. James shook his head and directed his attention to the heaping plate of potatoes in front of him, just as Tilly appeared out of thin air again with what looked like the entire Gryffindor table's portion of the feast.

"Would the Head Boy and Head Girl like to eat in the common room?" she suggested, but James was having none of that. He and Evans were going to have a sad, lonesome, pity party with fattening foods on the floor of his room with no real lights and probably eventually some melancholy music. He was calmer now, but by no means did that mean that he was happy again.

"Thanks, Tilly, but I think we're well set here. Thanks for everything!" Evans was beaming at the elf with the smile she reserved for second-years asking if they could go to Hogsmeade. Tilly curtsied and disappeared behind the fireplace, leaving the two tired seventh years to their meal.

"Evans… Lily… Thanks. You know? For this. It means a lot. I'm not really going to be okay for a while, but this is helping. You know that if… well, if the lads were here, they wouldn't know what to do. Paddy would probably try to throw himself off the Astronomy Tower, Moony would try to find a logical answer or some other shit, and Pete… Pete would probably do something like this, just not quite as nice. I'm not sure he has the same connections to the kitchen elves, if I'm being honest…" He wasn't really sure that he should be talking this much, but what else was he meant to do? it's not as if he could bloody well talk about the weather or how excited he was for classes to start, or anything, right? Anyway, Evans was special! She just took charge all the time. Honestly, if they could have House Moms instead of prefects, Lily would have held the title since October of their first year. She also didn't hate him anymore, so why should he disengage? And seriously, those damn eyes of hers… Ugh. He was hopeless, but isn't that what a pity party is for?

"... know I worry about you, and if you need any more help let me know, it's not as though we won't be in close proximity with each other this term, right? Oh, James Potter, you're a bloody idiot, at least look at me when I'm being nice to you?" Bugger. Lily was in the middle of what sounded like a really sweet sentence (in another life, he would have teased the hell out of her for it) and he was being a right arse and not responding, just making terribly uncomfortable eye contact with those bloody gorgeous emeralds. Did she say that she worried about him? Damn he needed to be a better friend, starting once he figured everything out with his parents and… fuck, his parents.

Scrambling for parchment in his trunk, he started looking for a quill and some ink. He had to know if St. Mungo's had his parents, he needed to figure out a code, what if the letter was intercepted? Fuck, why didn't he have an owl? "Lily! You've got an owl, right, a nice tawny something, some name from a Muggle musician? Can I please borrow it, I need to know if my parents got to the hospital!" She pursed her lips, he could see she was upset from being cut off from scolding him, but she sighed, nodding her head. "You can borrow Elvis is you remember his name. What if it gets intercepted by the Death Eaters, what will you do? James, you really need to calm down, let me get you some ink and a quill!"

After a harrowing thirty seconds of finding parchment and related supplies, James sat down at his desk, where he assumed the administration thought that he would be doing homework and creating prefect rounds. However, if the rest of the term carried on the way this first night had gone, it seemed that he would definitely be spending all his time here writing hurried notes like the one he had just attached to Elvis. The barn owl looked a bit miffed to be used by a stranger, but with a few soft words from Lily, he was soon off into the night sky, hopefully with a keen sense of where London was located. James slumped, head on the solid wood, letting himself truly relax for the first time in about two hours. For once, he wished that the boys wouldn't show up tonight, just so that he could sleep and recover from this stress… Tomorrow, however, he would need their help. Something had to be done about Voldemort and his followers, in particular their idiotic names for themselves and their idea that fear was a way to create loyalty.

* * *

Sirius bounded up the moving stairs to the Fat Lady's portrait, hearing Moony and Wormtail panting behind him as they leaped over the disappearing steps and tried to keep up with him. The instant that Dumbledore had dismissed the students, Sirius had been off the bench and sprinting to get up to Gryffindor Tower. He was hoping that was where James had vanished to, and was praying that his best mate hadn't gone batty and tried (or succeeded) to throw himself off the battlements of the Astronomy Tower. Sirius glared at the Fat Lady until she swung open for him- the only two Gryffindors to know the password were both in the common room somewhere. Probably snogging, though the dramatic circumstances were a bit much even for him to accept. He raced up the steps to their dormitory, only to turn right around, nearly knocking over the two winded boys following him as he remembered James' new title. (To be quite honest, the only reason he knew where the Head bedrooms were was because in his fifth year, the Head Girl had led him up to hers. Luckily, nothing much happened between them that night, seeing as she decided to charm herself with excess body hair after she graduated, and became the bass player for the new band, The Weird Sisters. Weird was definitely the right word, and he did not want it to be a part of his reputation.) He was already feeling guilty about interrupting Prongs and Evans with whatever they were doing, but hey- his mate's potential bout of insanity had to be prioritized. Pushing open the oak-paneled doors, he shoved his way into James' new bedroom. "OI!" he shouted, only to see Prongs, weak and sad looking, resting with his head on his desk. Lily jumped when she saw Sirius, dropping the empty plate of mashed potatoes on the carpet. As Remus and Peter shuffled in behind him, Sirius was lost in confusion. No snogging… melancholy James Potter… lots of food… no snogging. Suddenly, there was a terrible pain in his ear and he was being dragged out of the into Lily's adjoining bedroom. She had Remus and Peter by the hoods of their robes, as well, and as soon as she had charmed the door shut she began to whisper-yell at them.

" _James' parents were attacked by Voldemort's Death Eaters tonight, his dad is in St. Mungo's, and he is panicking! He can barely talk about, you should all be thanking me for making him eat and caring for him, unlike you pricks! and SIRIUS_ "- she was practically hissing at him-  _"Black, I know you too well. How DARE you barge in there thinking we were snogging? You are in possession of the single filthiest mind I have ever encountered and I have gone to school with Muggles who think a girl wearing tight jeans is something to eat for dinner! Do not get me started on how angry I am with you, because right now all of you need to get in there and help him figure out how to get settled with Quidditch trials, classes, N.E.W.T.S., and just the general mess that his life has fallen into. Do NOT mention any of what I've said unless he talks about it first, and I swear to MERLIN if you, Peter, take the mick out of him I will personally Stick you to the side of the Owlery for a week. Remus, please just be kind to him? He's very upset, and then he gets confused about being upset. You know, like when he lost to Ravenclaw last year because he accidentally forgot that their Keeper was left-handed and so he sent the Quaffle to the wrong hoop? This is like that except so much worse, and I've only just got him to eat, and it's like he's been Confunded, since he's actually thanking me for helping him and he hasn't made one damn joke yet in the past hour and a half. Please, just be his friends right now?"_ Lily finally relaxed, leaning herself against her bedpost and letting go of the three boys. Sirius massaged his ear, feeling as though he'd been assaulted by a Blast-Ended Skrewt that could talk.

" _Merlin, Evans, I wasn't going to fuck with him this time! Thanks for hissing my ear off, now may I talk to my best friend?"_ Sirius waved a hand and ushered Wormtail and Moony back into James' room, slamming the door behind them. He liked Lily, but that girl could be a bit much. Hopefully she would go to sleep and they could all work this out in the morning.

* * *

**Sorry if this chapter was a bit weird or rushed! trying to add in how they're all feeling about what's happening. as always, t** **hanks for reading! leave me a review and feel free to give me advice about what else to write :) and follow me on tumblr! (in my bio)**


	4. iv

Lily had never been this anxious for the owl post to arrive, not in all her years at school. James' nerves seemed to have evened out since the night before (she wasn't present for whatever he talked about with the boys, but apparently it did him some good), but she could still feel his knee shaking as he sat across the Gryffindor table from her at breakfast. Even though he was laughing with Sirius at the state of Dirk Cresswell's tie (possibly the result of an evening with Greta Catchlove, who Lily had noticed sneaking out of the common room as she went down for the feast), he was still a bit twitchy, constantly looking up at the blue morning sky for a sign of wings. Finally, after what seemed like hours of Peter trying to get Lily to admit that she thought Dirk and Greta had shagged the night before, and after making herself eat some toast and jam, the Great Hall was filled with the sound of wings. Of course, Elvis was almost the last owl to arrive (he loved to take his time), but she couldn't have been more grateful to see him. He almost landed in the jam, but James quickly scooped him up off the table and untied the two letters that hung from his leg. Lily fed the poor bird some sausage as Potter opened his mail, scanning the pages for news. She could see the envelopes, one labeled with the St. Mungo's seal, and one with handwriting she didn't recognize, although it seemed to bear an address in Wiltshire (Trowbridge, to be exact), where many affluent [read: pureblood] wizarding families kept their mansions. She knew for a fact that Lucius Malfoy stayed there with his grandparents during the summer, so it was logical that the Potters resided there as well. James was forbidding her from peeking at the letters, but for the first time in 18 hours, his mood had seemed to actually improve (instead of his acting as though it had). The clock rang out through the Great Hall, and Lily jumped up to direct the first-years to their classes; to her surprise, James got up from across the table, catching her eye.

"Lads, will you save us seats in Charms? Have to go make sure the ickle firsties don't fall off any staircases on their way to History of Magic this year." As Peter nodded vigorously (Sirius and Remus rolling their eyes over their pudding), James jogged around to the end of the Gryffindor table to wait for Lily.

"Hey, can you keep a secret?" he whispered as she started to call for the new students, craning her neck to see if any of them had managed to lose their schedules already.

"Of course I can, you tosser! Noticed how I haven't run to McGonagall about last night yet? Because I can keep a secret." she whispered back, spinning on her heel and strolling out of the Hall.

* * *

Archimedes, could James Potter have more going on? This was definitely the most hectic that his first 36 hours had ever been at Hogwarts. Thank the heavens that Elvin (Elvis? Elrond?) had finally shown up, would have knocked over half of the dishes on the table if it weren't for years of Quidditch training- combined with nerves. The letter from St. Mungo's was short, simply explaining that his father had been admitted to the hospital and that he could visit him on the fourth floor (Spell Damage) in a few days if he so wished. The second piece of mail came from his home in Trowbridge, his mother informing him that the "snake was shedding its skin", and that "the fire was going to need stoking soon". She was using their old code system, developed by his father when Voldemort first appeared in England. If this "Dark Lord" was really rising, like she said, he had to talk to Dumbledore. That damn Order of the Hippogriff, or whatever the hell it was, the "fire" that needed "stoking", might need James to drop out of school, maybe needing his friends as well! At least if that was his fate, he wouldn't have to focus on organizing Quidditch practice anymore.

James' head snapped out of his mother's handwriting as the clock chimed throughout the castle, echoing into the Great Hall and rattling the cups of pumpkin juice and cider in front of him. Across the table, Lily was jumping up and grabbing her bookbag; where the bloody hell did she think she was- oh fuck, the first-years! He sprung off the bench, parchment and quills scattering from his already-messy bag, calling out to the boys to save him and Lily seats with Flitwick. Meeting her at the end of the table, he murmured "Hey, can you keep a secret?", interrupting her efforts to get the attention of a cluster of eleven-year olds that had somehow forgotten where the exit was.

"Of course I can, you tosser! Noticed how I haven't run to McGonagall about last night yet? Because I can keep a secret." she hissed at him before marching out of the Hall. James smirked (he would try to tell her all he could on the way back to Charms), falling in line behind the little kids, making sure none of them accidentally wandered into the dungeons. Or into a ghost, for that matter. He tried to pay attention to his duties(Merlin, some of these firsties were twitchy) but it was getting difficult not to watch Evans' hair swinging in that plait down her back, her voice drifting to the back of the line as she called out to the new students. He used to tease her that he looked like one of those Muggle tour guides (he was pretty sure that was the right phrase) that he saw whenever he went to London, the ones in the funny hats waving flags around so that their tourists wouldn't fall off the Tower Bridge or whatever. Either way, he was loving the view he got- not many girls could rock the uniform's pleated skirts, but Evans was one who could. No, what was he thinking! His dad was in St. Mungo's, he might have to drop out of Hogwarts, and he hadn't even thought about when to start Quidditch try-outs. Lilypad was cute, but she was maybe 5th or 6th on his list of "James-Potter's-Things-to-Worry-About-at-Hogwarts-in-1977". At least, that's where she was supposed to be. Maybe all this stress from his parents' encounter with Lord Asshole was the reason behind all of this, that's what Remus had suggested last night. Padfoot had immediately hopped on that bandwagon, proclaiming that this anxiety about the start of a war had given James an outlet to pour his love for Lily into (he had actually started to climb up onto the desk by this point, about to expound on the wonders of love as he was wont to do, and Peter had to pull him down before he tried to leap onto the bed).

James was suddenly torn from his thoughts when he heard a first year (Bailey? Barkley?) yell "Look out!" His head jerked up, and he immediately jumped to the side, getting out of the way of the Headless Hunters barrelling along the corridor by the Fat Lady. Apparently, they had decided that terrifying the piss out of eleven-year-olds was a far better method of entertaining themselves than cantering through the dungeons and practicing for their infamous Halloween Hunt. Last year, the ghostly horses had decided to stampede the Great Hall (most likely an act of "humor" instigated by Sir Patrick Delaney-Podmore), ruining the food by running through the tables. Peeves had then taken one or two of the heads hostage, requiring the Bloody Baron to come and menace the poltergeist until he finally gave returned the body parts, although not to their proper owners. Merlin, he wished that Dumbledore would just relegate them to the dungeons now, but apparently the start-of-year festivities were just too dull and needed spicing up. Whatever the morality was of the Huntsmen though, he was surprised that Barnesley (that was definitely his name) had had the foresight to alert him to their presence. Whatever, he'd have to remember that he owed the kid one.

* * *

Did they actually need to be saving seats for them? If James and Lily had walked into McGonagall's class five minutes before the gong, they still would have been able to excuse themselves with the "Head business" excuse. Peter was glad to do it, but it was really necessary? Either way, he was sure Lily would be glad to see that they had gotten seats at the front of the classroom- on the train, she had been spouting about needing to perfect her nonverbal spells in order to pursue her career as a Healer. She had been trying out her healing spells on the Marauders all summer, fixing up their little scrapes and bruises after their Quidditch scrimmages. As he remembered, she and Moony had grown especially close after he started to let her administer to him in the days following each full moon. This last full moon had been less than a week ago, leaving Remus a bit out-of-sorts to prepare for his prefect duties, as well as their upcoming N.E.W.T exams. Hopefully the start of classes would distract him enough from his condition- besides, the younger students were always particularly wild during the first month or so, he would have enough discipline to handle. Come to think of it (and Peter was definitely thinking about it, especially if "it" was in the shape of Emmeline Vance), the upperclassmen would probably be quite unruly with the rush of encircling hormones. After all, hadn't they seen the result of Greta Catchlove's handiwork all over Cresswell this morning? It was only September 2nd, and the randiness looked like it would be at an all time high.

Peter was knocked out of his reverie quite literally, his train of thoughts stalled by a smack to the back of the head from Sirius sitting next to him. Prongs and Lily were making their way into the classroom, whispering excitedly to each other and looking happier than they had all day. On his left, Sirius was muttering under his breath, "...  _guess that's two more people getting some action today, I need to turn up my_ Charm! Get it, Professor, I need to turn up my  _charm_ , because this is  _Charms_  class? Yessir, I'll shut it now, thank you very much Professor." Peter smiled over his friend's head at Remus, who rolled his eyes and pushed his bookbag to the floor, opening up the bench to the Head Boy and Girl.

…

" _Pettigrew! You lazy Muggle-lover, move your arse along, why don't you?_ " Mulciber whispered to him from the shadows by the dungeon staircase. Nervously, Peter shuffled to meet him, silently praying that this meeting would just be to tell him that he didn't need to join the Slytherins' creepy cult anymore, that it was all just a joke, that Volde-whatsisface didn't want a nasty Gryffindor in his ranks anyway… He knew that wouldn't actually happen, but what else could be so damn urgent that they had needed to see him in the terri-fucking-fying dungeon right on the second night of term?

He had descended a few steps into the darkness (it would seem that Peeves had come through and deemed it his responsibility to extinguish all of the torches) when a hand covered his mouth and he was roughly shoved into the dungeon wall. His thoughts flickered to his friends, up in the common room, probably discussing James' parents and how good ol' Pete had to sneak off, the tosser… For a moment, he considered transforming into his Animagus form, but the legal consequences for that could be so much worse than what he might experience at the hands of these idiots. Thank Merlin he had learned to Spellotape his wand to his hip, so that he was the only one to find it and use it. If only they would just let him g- BANG! a red flash shot through Peter's vision, and he fell into darkness.

* * *

**unpopular opinion: i honestly love the character of Peter Pettigrew, i'm trying to do him a bit more justice than he usually gets!** **Thanks for reading! leave me a review and feel free to give me advice about what else to write :) and follow me on tumblr! (in my bio)**


	5. v

Where the bloody hell had Pete gone? He was getting worried by now, it had been a couple of hours. Of course, Remus was listening to Padfoot, Prongs, and Lily talking about their plans to get James out of the school, when they would be able to tell McGonagall about all that had happened (they were thinking tomorrow morning), how he would get to London without being caught, who would go with him (probably Lily), and so on. But, over the years of dealing with his transformations, he had developed the skill of focusing his mind on as many things as possible, so that he wouldn't have to think about his condition. Especially at times like this, so soon after a full moon, it was incredibly helpful to be able to clear his head of all those thoughts. Right now, sitting in the common room, his brain was fixed on Pete's disappearance (he would probably go look for him in a few minutes and find him snogging Emmeline Vance behind a tapestry somewhere), James' parents, organizing the prefect duty roster for Gryffindor (which he had already organized into an elaborate chart based on all of the prefects' schedules, complete with color-coded flashing ink telling him who was on duty where- a little touch of Lily's), what the best way was to contact Dumbledore, his mother's birthday coming up in October, the two feet of parchment that Binns was demanding on the giant wars by Tuesday (why on Earth the staff had decided to set the first day of classes on a Friday was a mystery to him), and just whether or not Greta Catchlove had actually snuck into the common room to shag Dirk Cresswell the night before. And right now, especially, he was thinking about how exhausted he was. The first week after a transformation was always tiring, his body not fully comprehending what state it was in, the nocturnal wolf inside him keeping him awake until the wee hours of the morning while the conscientious student tried to get at least an hour of sleep. Slowly, Remus let himself refocus on the conversation around him.

"Are you absolutely sure Mom said she saw old Archie? Like my old man's old man? What the fucking hell?" Sirius was pacing around the room, pausing every now and then to push his hair out of his eyes and rant. James' head was hanging low- he and Lily had tried to keep that piece of information quiet, but Sirius had quite the puppy-dog eyes, even when he wasn't masquerading as Padfoot.

"Yes, love, we're sure! But you have got to stay here, Sirius, okay? We need you here, someone has to pester Dumbledore for information!" Lily was pleading with him, seeing the look in the boy's eyes that usually meant he was off to jump in the lake in midwinter, or try to levitate himself up to the ceiling in the Great Hall. This time, however, Remus was certain that their friend was going to try to go and singlehandedly defeat Voldemort and all his followers, just to get back at his grandfather. Lupin looked over at Lily, who was giving him the look she gave him when he was too lenient with a troublemaking third year, or when he wouldn't talk to her after a transformation, or when he had spent ten hours in the library for an essay and hadn't slept. It was her "you'll-never-become-a-professor-with-that-attitude-now-come-here" face, and he knew it all too well.

"Hey, Sir, come on, let's go take a walk. Your family's crazy, remember? Try repeating that to yourself, you don't have to prove anything to your old man's old man. Want to help me look for Pete?" Remus walked over, taking Sirius' arm and pulling away from the window, out of which he was staring despondently. At the mention of Peter, Paddy rolled his eyes.

"For Wormtail? Yeah, I'll come. Even with Emmeline Vance, the girl of his wet dreams, you know he wouldn't have lasted this long. Maybe they fell asleep in a broom cupboard or something, let's go." The hint of a smile passed over his face, and Remus laughed. It was true. They started to walk out of the room, and as he looked over his shoulder, Lilypad shot him a thumbs-up. As he watched, she moved a bit closer to James, as the two began poring over his mother's letter again.

* * *

ARCHIE? Not that he was surprised, but- did the man ever stop? 76 years old, and still supporting evil, mad, bigoted wizards trying to ruin the Wizarding world for the rest of them. Honest-to-Merlin, was it necessary? Sirius didn't see why his grandfather couldn't just stay in his manor house and leave well enough alone. It was no wonder Regulus had been named after him, old Arcturus was just as filled with ridiculous ideals of a pureblood-only world as little Reg was. Moony was right, all of the Blacks were crazy and Sirius needed a walk. It was a residual effect of spending at least three or four days a month as a dog, but he was always restless, wanting to be outside no matter the weather. Remus always knew when he needed to get out, so they had taken to exploring the castle more, trying to navigate without the Map, always willing to bump into a girl or two.

"So, Moonboy, where do you suppose Pete's run off to?" Remus was walking ahead of him, looking back and waiting for Sirius to catch up.

"Honestly, Pad, I have no idea. I mean, Emmeline's pretty, but you know he would be finished and back by now! If that's even where he went, but don't you think we would have heard about it?" Moony sighed, swiping his dusty brown hair out of his eyes (a tell-tale sign he was worried- if he was focusing on things or enjoying himself, Sirius knew he would always just let his hair hang into his face). As they reached the Great Hall, taking the long way instead of the shortcuts that they had memorized years earlier, it seemed too quiet. Peeves was usually blowing around, hoping to catch someone out of bed (or a couple, which was even better) as an excuse to call Filch down and wake up some professors. Invoke general chaos, per usual. But the poltergeist didn't seem to be out tonight. Given that only the bloody Bloody Baron could actually control the damn apparition, the entire situation was relatively suspicious. It looked like Remus had noticed it too, he kept peeking over his shoulder and stopping in his tracks,

"Moon, is this- is this weird to you? I know it's only the second night of term, but shouldn't there at least be some-" he didn't finish the question. Moony had a finger to his lips, with a look on his face that Sirius unfortunately recognized. He had seen that face around the full moons, when his friend's canine senses were at their height. It meant that he had heard or smelled something, something bad. Catching Remus' eye, he pointed down the corridor that led to the dungeon. At the taller boy's nod, Sirius instantly knew what was going on. In one of Pete's letters from the summer, he had mentioned that Avery and Mulciber had been hanging around his neighborhood. They had been doing to same to Reg, but of course the dolts had been invited into 12 Grimmauld Place, given seats of honor next to Sirius' old man. Old Orion was almost drooling, he was so honored that his son had been chosen to lead (in his head) the Dark Lord's army. Of course, Sirius had learned all of this not through his brother, but through that damn Kreacher, who had been sent to "keep an eye" on him at the Potter's.

Now Pete's disappearance made some sense. Why in the bloody hell the Death Eaters thought that little Peter Pettigrew would be a good addition to their forces, he would never understand, but there was no way in Azkaban that he would let his friend go through that. Pete was the loyalest person he had ever met (except for Lily, maybe… Pete was the most faithful guy he had met, then), they had to be holding him against his will. With Moony leading the way, the pair crept down the corridor. Those Slytherins weren't smart enough to have found any of their shortcuts, they must be in the dungeons, down in the snakes' common room. If he saw Regulus, he swore to Merlin, he would probably hex him on the spot, that boy was causing enough trouble as it was. He was too soft, he couldn't see that the pureblood mentality was po- a muffled cry from farther down the dark corridor (all of the torches had been extinguished, but both Sirius and Remus had decent night vision, thanks to their canine dispositions) shut down his train of thought.

The two boys started running into the darkness, wands held out in front of them. The yelling grew louder and louder, until they reached a bend in the stones and ground to a halt, trying their best not to breathe too loudly. Sirius's ears perked up- he could hear Peter arguing with someone, yelling at them… There was something they wanted that he couldn't do, that he was refusing to do. He wasn't go to… betray his friends? Those bloody slimy bastards! Pete would never join their slippery crew of pureblood arseholes, he was too pure, too simple and kind to ever make ranks with the likes of them. He was caught up in his mental rant when he felt an elbow in his shoulder. Moony had that face again, and looked incredibly distressed on top of it. Then, Sirius heard the voice he had been dreading.

"Listen, Pettigrew, the Dark Lord needs an insider like you with us! You have been chosen by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, you should be honored to be an agent for our side." Regulus' words were rushed, almost shaking with excitement. " And if you're not feeling quite the way we wish, you know that our forces are posted outside your home, and that blood traitor Vance is being watched, as well! Join us… Peter. We need your knowledge of Dumbledore, of everything the other side is doing!" Sirius rolled his eyes at this; as far as he knew, Pete barely knew about the Order of the Phoenix or that Dumbledore had been recruiting students since last year. In fact, Mam Potter's letter might have been the first time he had really even heard about the war. His mind quieted as Reg's voice piped up again, cutting through Pete's unintelligible protesting- they must have gagged him.

"What's that, Peter? Oh, we can let you go now. Lads? Untie our friend here. He has quite a lot to go tell Gryffindor." His brother's voice sounded so young, he shouldn't be doing any of this. Merlin damn their parents, poisoning Regulus' mind with their pureblood talk… Although, Sirius thought with some pride, Reg seemed to be a leader among the Slytherin Death Eaters. At least he had managed that much. Give Walburga something to gossip about with her other pureblood crones. Then they heard Wormtail coming down the passage, and they had to act fast.

* * *

Peter dropped to the ground, the Sticking Charm binding him to the wall finally letting go. Gasping, he rushed down the corridor, forcing his stiff legs to move faster. As he rounded the corner, praying to Merlin he was going the right way, he was suddenly pulled off his feet and into the wall.  _Oh my God. They're going to kill me. This is it, I said I wouldn't join and now they're going to kill me._  He tried to scream, but there was a tight hand over his mouth and he couldn't make a sound. Whoever his captors were, however, it seemed like they were taking him up, out of the dungeon, back into the castle where he came from. He could barely hear a thing, but he smelled something familiar- it was like a mix of wet dog and cologne…  _Oh, Merlin. Thank you._  His entire body relaxed, knowing his best friends had come to find him. As they emerged into the dim light of the Great Hall, Moony and Pad let him go, and he enveloped them in a huge hug.

"Did you hear everything?" he asked, still trying to get his breath back.

"We saw enough, alright? Tell us the next time something like this happens, mate!" Sirius' face was grim, and Pete decided not to ask him anything else until they were safely behind the Fat Lady's portrait. Remus smiled faintly (this was probably more stress than he needed only a few days after a full moon), and shoved Peter a little bit with his arm.

"Come on, men. We've got a nice story to tell Lily and Prongs, haven't we?" At this, Sirius exhaled a bit of laughter.

"We can't tell it to them if they're already shagging, Moony! Let's go catch them before it gets too hot up there."

* * *

**i really wanted to show angsty Sirius and how much Remus cares about Pete in this chapter, i hope it worked!** **Thanks for reading! leave me a review and feel free to give me advice about what else to write :) and follow me on tumblr! (in my bio)**


	6. vi

Lily stretched out on a couch in the Gryffindor common room, closing her eyes and relaxing for the first time in about three hours. After Rem and Sirius had gone to find Pete (hopefully entwined in a dark corridor with Emmeline, it was about time they took the plunge), she and James had wrapped up their plans for his departure from the school. She had sent Elvis off to St. Mungo's about an hour and a half before, asking for an update on Mr. Potter's condition. If they got a response at the morning mail, James already had their day planned out to the minute. First was breakfast, during which Lily would hand out schedules to the students while James checked for Elvis. If she didn't have to give any first-years tours to where their classes would be on Monday, they planned on heading straight to McGonagall's office. Thank the Lord it was a Saturday tomorrow, she wouldn't have to deal with double Ancient Runes for an entire weekend. Merlin, the amount of things they had done tonight was ridiculous and she needed to sleep. They had talked to Aidan Rogers, a trustworthy Irish sixth-year who played Seeker for Gryffindor, about taking over Quidditch tryouts on Sunday if James was unavailable. To tell the truth, he seemed a bit too excited about it, but she knew he would do a good job. James had mentioned to her after Rogers had left that his freckles looked like they would leap off his face and form the team themselves. Speaking of that tosser, a socked foot was suddenly in her face, and she jerked herself out of her thoughts and into a seated position. James' lopsided grin caught her eyes from the other end of the couch, and all she could do was roll her eyes.

"Calling it a night, Evans?" At the sound of her last name, Lily grabbed a pillow from behind her head and lobbed it at him. Damn those Quidditch reflexes, she was determined he would suffer if he ever called her "Evans" again. Nevertheless, she couldn't help but smile. And seriously? Could anyone have nicer eyes than the ones staring at her right now? She was not ashamed of the effect that blue eyes in a tanned face had on her.

"James, you arse, you know you can't call me that anymore!" he smiled wider (it was so obvious he liked when she used his first name, why couldn't he do the same?), almost laughing at her attempts to reclaim the pillow and deal some damage.

"If I can't call you Evans, Evans, how about Lilypad? Can I steal Paddy's nickname? Or what if I just call you Steve. Or William. Billy? I think I'll call you Billy! It rhymes with Lily, doesn't it?" he dodged another pillow coming from her side of the couch, and she was seriously considering hexing him. Granted, the Head Girl probably shouldn't hex the Head Boy, but who would know?

Dumbledore. Dumbledore would know. And McGonagall, definitely. Shit.

Finally wrestling the pillow back from James' grasp, she flung it one more time at his head. It was definitely time to sleep, if they were going to be awake at the crack of dawn for mail. She had told Elvis it was urgent, but she really wasn't too sure how much English the owl could underst-

"JAMES! LILY! I SWEAR IF YOU TWO ARE SHAGGING IN THE-oh, good, you're right here with all your clothes on." Sirius came slamming in through the portrait, followed closely behind by Remus who was supporting… Pete? What the hell had happened?

"We found him down in the corridors under the lake, Stuck to the wall and being harassed by those idiotic Slytherins with their fucking club and stupid ideas. Also Reg was there. Surprise. And Lilypad, don't you dare give me that look, I didn't go after him, and yeah, Pete's fine. Just exhausted, I think they had him up there for at least a couple hours, he needs some sleep."

James and Lily exchanged a look. She could tell that he was thinking something along the lines of her own thoughts- there was definitely a war on now, and Hogwarts was not going to be left out of it. Why else would those arseholes want Peter otherwise? Ugh, she could not deal with this tonight.

"This is awful, Pete's never done anything to them- well, outside of what the four of you seemed to think were harmless pranks. Boys, can you get him to bed? I really need to sleep…" As worried as she was about her friend, Lily could not bring herself to do anything more that night. It was already almost one in the morning and even though the next day was Saturday, she needed a rest. Maybe she would spend tomorrow with Mary and Marlene, that would cheer her up.

"Evans, you're sure you're going to bed? Wormy here's almost passed out anyway, this won't take too long." James was looking at her, and as much as she would have enjoyed staying up until the sunrise with him (as friends, of course, stop making that face), she needed some rest before whatever was going to happen tomorrow. If today had been any indication, this was going to be the busiest year of her life.

"No, James, honestly… You guys take care of him, make sure he's comfortable. I'll see you tomorrow!" She was trying to ignore Sirius' look, he could probably see the blush making its way to her cheeks. She could talk to him later, he seemed to have this notion that she and James would be violently shagging each other now that they shared the Head apartment. James, on the other hand, was looking pretty tired himself. He nodded, and the three conscious Marauders made their way up to their dorm, levitating Peter as he began to snore.

Somehow, despite her physical and mental exhaustion, Lily couldn't manage to fall asleep that night. She even wore her most comfortable pyjamas, and this is what she got? Restlessness? At least her bed was comfortable- to be honest, it was definitely softer and deeper than the one in her old dormitory room- but that other bed had more memories. She was remembering her and Mary and Marlene, and sometimes Dorcas Meadowes or Emmeline Vance, staying up far too late with food from the kitchens and stories about the latest Quidditch match and which warlock Celestina Warbeck was angling for now. Sometimes they would sneak some firewhiskey from the boys' room (Mary and Sirius had had a fling in the latter half of their fifth year, and he had revealed their hiding place to her while trying to find her knickers one lazy afternoon) and get tipsy, dancing around to Lily's Muggle records and laughing about their plans for the future and occasionally crying about boys- dammit, she was getting sentimental. Not that Lily Evans didn't have a certain twang for the romantic, but she certainly did not need to be having such nostalgic and melancholy thoughts on her second night in her new bed. Maybe the girls could all come up here for a sleepover the next night, that was a good plan…

Her little bubble was shattered when she heard footsteps on the stairs. She had forgotten that James lived here too- not that she didn't want him around, but it was definitely a bit startling to remember that the boy who had spent the better part of your acquainted years flirting with you and asking you out was going to be living next door. It didn't help that just as she was beginning to see why so many girls had fallen for James Potter and his damn blue eyes and smarmy grin, his father gets attacked by Death Eaters and one of his best friends is traumatized by their minions. Dammit. Now he was knocking on the door. Scrambling for a slightly more flattering camisole (in order to look as though she hadn't raided her father's closet for sleepwear), she stammered out "Hang- hang on, Potter, what do you want?"

"Merlin, Lilypad, are you cleaning up after a rager or something? It's just me, wanted to check in on you. Rough start to the- oh, hello, Ginge!" James shuffled into her room as she opened the door, his eyes roaming around as though trying to pick out whether or not this was what Lily Evans' room should look like. Not that she had done much decorating yet- oh, Agrippa, there was not a snowball's chance in hell that he was looking around her room for any purpose other than a common courtesy. Ugh.  _Lil, you're going off the deep end. Pull back._

"So, Potter, you wanted to check on me? I think I'm managing alright, just can't seem to get any sleep." She was standing awkwardly between the Head Boy and her bed, and moved over to the window. It wasn't a small room, why did he have to stand so bloody close to her? One bonus of this room, at least (besides the size and having her own room), was that the view was terrific. Gryffindor Tower really didn't disappoint for insomniacs, there was always something to watch. At this moment however, Lily could barely focus on the window, being hyper-aware of where James was at all times and what he was doing. And what he was doing right now was staring at her. "So, Potter, you wanted to check on me? I think I'm managing alright."

* * *

This woman was going to be the death of him. She really was. They had spent the past two days attached at the hip, from the train ride to staying up until the wee hours of this morning. And then when Pete is suddenly unconscious in the common room with a terrifying story, she needs to sleep? And won't look at him when he tries to check on her? Why, why in the name of Agrippa's left bum cheek, did he find himself so drawn to Lily Evans? If he was being honest with himself, as Sirius so often said he was not, she was just incredibly smart and funny, with no qualms about hexing anyone that pissed her off. It was amazing, how much energy she had- but. That was not the point of this visit to her room, he wanted to see if she was okay! It wasn't like Lily to back away when someone was clearly in distress- she had come up to find him when he found out about his dad, hadn't she? If anything, she was the master of mixed signals.

But he had to check on her! Over their sixth year and the following summer, she had started leaping to the aid of any of them when they were hurt, patching up Moony's cuts and bruises (even setting a broken leg back in February), and charming away Sirius' black eyes from his various tousles with some Slytherins trying to get him to revert to the ways of his parents. There was even a time that Pete had been trying to flirt with some Ravenclaw girl and had gotten on the wrong end of a Stinging Hex from her boyfriend. Lily had fixed him up almost immediately, not wanting the boyfriend (huge hulk of a person, played Beater for Hufflepuff) to get in trouble any more than she wanted Pete to have to answer embarrassing questions about the little stingers that were stuck in his cheeks. It just seemed very odd for her not to have done anything tonight- wasn't she still their mate?

It was nerve-wracking to knock on her door for the first time. Obviously, he would have to do this many times over the year, as combined they were the highest authority for students before the professors had to get involved, but it was still strange. From behind the door, it sounded like she had fallen out of bed, knocking things over in the process. He heard a muffled "hang- hang on, Potter, what do you want?" He noted the use of his last name with a sigh, she had been doing that less lately. Recovering his usual Potter swagger (if she wanted a Potter, she would get one), he answered her with a little more flavor than he was feeling, saying "Merlin, Lilypad, are you cleaning up after a rager or something? It's just me, wanted to check in on you. Rough start to the- oh, hello, Ginge!"

She opened up the door, looking tired and embarrassed as she let him in. Maybe using two of Paddy's nicknames for her would be enough, just evening the playing field between them. There was a look in her emerald eyes that he tried to decipher, but never got the chance. She refused to look at him, moving away from the bed to look out the window. His room didn't have quite the same view, he was strategically placed overlooking the Quidditch pitch. Lily, on the other hand, had what promised to be a stellar view of the mountains surrounding the castle- that is, if he ever got to be here in daylight. Honestly, he needed to stop staring at her, but something about the loose shirt she had on and the way her hair was tied up in a bun…  _Merlin, man. James Emmanuel Potter, pull yourself up by your britches and focus._  The old expression his father used to use popped into his head-  _Thank, Dad. Just because you're at St. Mungo's doesn't mean you get to be inside my head, too._

She looked over at him, no more embarrassment in her eyes but a blush in her cheeks. It was the same look she had had in the common room when he had asked her to wait for him. Dammit, why did he have to do that? Too much had been going on in the past two days, he wasn't on his game anymore.

"So, Potter, you wanted to check on me? I think I'm managing alright."

"Well,  _Evans_ , I just wanted to check on you. Once the boys brought Pete back, you didn't seem alright."

"You of all people know that there's a war going on now, I'm stressed! Besides, I'm going to have to be both Head Girl and Boy tomorrow if McGonagall says you can go."

"You could come with me."

"To Wizarding London? On the third day of the term? When I haven't been able to see my other friends since the train ride because of that stupid Voldemort and his cronies?"

"Fine, then. Worried I'll take advantage of you?"

"Potter, if you even thought about trying anything with me you'd wake up in the hospital wing without any parts to do those things you were thinking of."

"I know. Come to London?" James tried to hold back a grin. He had no doubt that he wouldn't wake up in the hospital at all. Death by Lilypad Evans.

"Potter. James."

"Evans. Lily. You're sure you're okay?"

"Yes, I swear to Merlin I'm fine. I just really need to sleep and I can't. And I can't go to London, what if a first-year dies while we're away?"

"Why would a first-year die?" He was full-out smiling at this point.

"I don't know, what if one wandered into the lake and was eaten by the squid? It could happen." He could tell she was smiling, too. Thank the Founders. Finally.

"I don't think the squid eats all those first-years that are mysteriously drawn to the lake for no reason at all. I think it sucks them down to be taken care of by the merpeople."

"James!" she hit him lightly with her elbow. "Don't say such things, they might come true!"

"So you'll come to London, then?"

"No, James. I have to spend time with Mary and Marlene or they'll think I've been eaten by the giant squid!"

"I thought as Head Girl, you were supremely appointed to make sure that doesn't happen."

She smiled, a full Lily smile. "I'm not going to London, James. You don't even know if you can go yourself! Besides, the letter from the hospital said you couldn't go for a few days. He's still bedridden."

James felt his mood falter. "I know, but Lily… I need to see him! He's my old man…"

Lily moved forward and put a hand on his arm (he had to struggle to repress the shiver that ran up his spine, her fingers were so cold and soft), looking up into his face for the first time since he had entered the room.

"James. Stay here for a few days, you can do tryouts tomorrow and get your mind off of all of this, you can check in with Peter and figure out what the hell happened, and you and I can have our first patrol of the year. Come on, James… This worrying isn't going to do you any good. Besides, it might be dangerous leaving Hogwarts right now."

Merlin, this woman had an effect on him.

"Fine. I won't go and see him tomorrow as long as you get some sleep tonight. Promise?"

She smiled. "I promise. Now get out of my room before I come back to my senses."

Laughing, James made his way back to the door. As he opened it, another thought came to mind. Spinning back around, he called her name again (mostly just to hear it on his tongue).

"Hey, Lily!"

She turned back to him, her hair shining in the faint torchlight.

"Yes, James?"

"Why couldn't you sleep?"

"Just remembering some things. Nostalgia, I suppose. You get some rest now, too, Potter. Tryouts start in eight hours and you know you need breakfast."

He felt a flutter in his abdomen knowing that she remembered such an idiotic detail about him.

"Alright, Lilypad. I'll try. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, James."

James walked across their common room and into his own large bedroom overlooking the site of tomorrow's tryouts. He couldn't get those brilliant eyes out of his mind as he undressed and laid down to sleep. How do you get over someone you were never with? Maybe this year would be the year Lily Evans finally agreed to go on a date with James Potter.


End file.
